Knowledge

Brandeis University is a community of scholars and students united by their commitment to the pursuit of knowledge and its transmission from generation to generation.

As a research university, Brandeis is dedicated to the advancement of the humanities, arts and social, natural and physical sciences. As a liberal arts college, Brandeis affirms the importance of a broad and critical education in enriching the lives of students and preparing them for full participation in a changing society, capable of promoting their own welfare, yet remaining deeply concerned about the welfare of others.

In a world of challenging social and technological transformations, Brandeis remains a center of open inquiry and teaching, cherishing its independence from any doctrine or government. It strives to reflect the heterogeneity of the United States and of the world community whose ideas and concerns it shares.

In the belief that the most important learning derives from the personal encounter and joint work of teacher and students, Brandeis encourages undergraduates and postgraduates to participate with distinguished faculty in research, scholarship and artistic activities.

Here are a few such examples: 

1Students in assistant professor Laura Goldin's Greening the Ivory Tower course shoveled earth and planted blueberries behind the Abraham Shapiro Academic Complex in an effort to preserve wetlands that serve as a natural habitat for wildlife in the area.

2Faculty members David Cunningham and Mark Auslander led 14 students to the Mississippi Delta to explore, through an unusual oral-history project, the roots of civil rights in Southern cities.

3Undergraduates, graduate students, faculty and alumni in the School of Creative Arts and School of Humanities joined to stage and perform "Physician of His Honor," a compelling and shocking drama by Spanish playwright and poet Pedro Calderon de la Barca.

4Administrators and coaches led the women's basketball team on a tour of Italy for nine days of culture, camaraderie and exposure to the international rules of basketball.